tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post707902828995106620..comments2024-03-24T21:12:27.165-07:00Comments on 100 Reasons NOT to Go to Graduate School: 93. There is no getting ahead.100 Reasonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13655155303350793785noreply@blogger.comBlogger146125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-59812860248272763582016-03-12T10:19:09.985-08:002016-03-12T10:19:09.985-08:00The Obama administration has just approved a secon...The Obama administration has just approved a second extension of OPT - Optional Practical Training - that allows foreign graduates to stay up to 5 years after graduation.<br /><br />You pay for the schools. You pay the tuition. You pay for the financial aid that allows this. In the end, the jobs go to other people, somewhere else - while the country has close to the lowest labor participation rate it has had in decades.<br /><br />Higher education is a scam.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-71742167076396052222016-03-09T13:26:18.023-08:002016-03-09T13:26:18.023-08:00And Goldman Sachs is far from conservative - its t...And Goldman Sachs is far from conservative - its ties to Clinton and the Obama administration (and benefits from) are really staggering:<br /><br />$169,850 campaign donations to Clinton by Jan. 2016.<br />$675,000 in Clinton 'speaking fees' after she left office in 2013 (for three speeches).<br />Hillary's 2nd largest source of campaign funds when she ran for Senate.<br />Obama's 2nd largest source of campaign funds in 2008.<br />Took in $20 billion in tax dollars in the 2009 "bailout" (promptly paid back out in bonuses over the next two years).<br />Rahm Emmanuel, known as Obama's chief of staff during his first term, was also a Goldman Sachs contract employee.<br />At least a dozen Goldman Sachs high-level administrators had or have high-ranking positions in the Obama government.<br />Elena Kagan received what appear to be one-day consulting fees from Goldman Sachs for several years running prior to her Supreme Court appointment, totaling $40,000.<br />...and these are just a sample...<br /><br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-53316851688642991472015-07-11T18:03:29.308-07:002015-07-11T18:03:29.308-07:00It's just as well, because there are no jobs t...It's just as well, because there are no jobs there either.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-78492514554730815172015-07-04T10:09:55.326-07:002015-07-04T10:09:55.326-07:009:44: Lately, I've been thinking of running of...9:44: Lately, I've been thinking of running off to Hollywood. I probably wouldn't hit it big... but I'd have way, WAY more fun than I would in the hipster hell of academia.<br /><br />I really appreciate your input. No snark. Seriously! You summed it up perfectly: there will not be a choice at all. My insanity has put me into one hell of a corner. Might as well go down partying!<br /><br />One of the cruelest aspects of our current economic predicament is that good, prudent students wind up in the same predicament as people who, for whatever reason, would have never "made it," not even in times of prosperity. You work hard, study hard; you try to pay off your loans; you work your tail off in grad school; in the end, you're no better off than some crazy itinerant chick. Terrible.<br /><br />An academic career is now about as practical as a last-ditch attempt at Hollywood. Think about it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-74252735891418130432015-06-03T11:23:10.791-07:002015-06-03T11:23:10.791-07:00On the contrary, there was nothing that was inevit...On the contrary, there was nothing that was inevitable about the recognition eventually accorded Prasher.<br /><br />Think about the years of productivity *absolutely lost* from a known producer. Then consider that this story is being played out every day across the country - at a stunning aggregate cost to the nation and maybe to humanity in general.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-6222242439276610562015-06-01T21:44:16.730-07:002015-06-01T21:44:16.730-07:00To 9:48: There will not be a choice at all. Eithe...To 9:48: There will not be a choice at all. Either learn how to adapt to a different environment now, or you will have to learn to do so 8 years from now after a significant amount of bullshit and grief when your PhD is done and you are shat out the bottom of the academic world. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-45467188387360390512015-05-30T13:27:42.016-07:002015-05-30T13:27:42.016-07:00That's right, it's all evil conservatives ...That's right, it's all evil conservatives funding research with strings attached - liberal organizations *NEVER* do that. Oh no. Not ever. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-47755579557177247812015-05-14T21:48:51.125-07:002015-05-14T21:48:51.125-07:00Re: getting ahead...
I am now applying to PhD pro...Re: getting ahead...<br /><br />I am now applying to PhD programs. I know how bad the job market is, but... I must admit... I am probably too disabled (cough) to function in a "real world" job. In my adult life, I have had three office jobs; I never lasted more than a month. They always ended the same way: mood swing apocalypse. Fire and all.<br /><br />So... for me, it's either academia, art world (lol), Hollywood (double lol), or go crawling to SSI.<br /><br />IMHO, the fact that academia may be a good choice for me says it all.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-6396156199569984492015-05-07T21:56:25.247-07:002015-05-07T21:56:25.247-07:00Let's not forget how much research is funded b...Let's not forget how much research is funded by conservative organizations with strings attached. Just look at economics: Goldman Sachs is dishing out cash-for-hire to whomever can churn out pro-deregulation papers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-18920700029039183032014-11-10T12:38:38.364-08:002014-11-10T12:38:38.364-08:00This guilt is probably encompassed under other ent...This guilt is probably encompassed under other entries such as #10 "There is a Psychological Cost", but I agree with you that the guilt is unacceptable. The academy's disrespect for your free time is very high on my list of reasons for leaving grad school, and I'm glad you brought it up. Skipping the gym or shortening my workout routine was a big one for me, as was getting irritated every time a friend texted me. Before I entered grad school, a prof said that she hated getting texts and calls...I always wondered why that was, but never asked. Well, now I know and I'll never forget. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-19133608188310015582014-11-03T08:58:46.090-08:002014-11-03T08:58:46.090-08:00Thanks very much for your insights. I guess no one...Thanks very much for your insights. I guess no one can plan to be someone like HW Brands though.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-39190492472908916642014-10-31T01:00:29.292-07:002014-10-31T01:00:29.292-07:00@anonymous (August 11, 2014 at 1317 hours):
You ...@anonymous (August 11, 2014 at 1317 hours): <br /><br />You may like to check these out:<br /><br />< http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/18/education/edlife/18phd-t.html?pagewanted=all ><br /><br />< www.businessinsider.com/rick-scott-thinks-liberal-arts-degrees-are-not-needed-unless-you-want-to-work-for-him-2011-10 ><br /><br /><br />Best,<br />Anti-منافقAnti-منافقnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-33779364131909516562014-10-26T13:11:50.971-07:002014-10-26T13:11:50.971-07:00Not just the social sciences. I can assure you th...Not just the social sciences. I can assure you that most engineering professors nowadays have absolutely no idea how the real world functions. They only thing they're concerned about, aside from getting tenure and their next grant, is that someone else pays for their shenanigans. Those outside academe, the great unwashed, exist only to buy them their bright new shiny toys.<br /><br />Maybe it's good that they are academics. They'd be a menace in the real world. They have no clue about what they should do if they were ever out in the field, in a design office, or on a shop floor.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-29351182168968227392014-10-26T13:05:34.093-07:002014-10-26T13:05:34.093-07:00In addition, one is often reminded that any time o...In addition, one is often reminded that any time on activities for yourself--even if it's eating or sleeping--is considered theft. Why? Because that time *really* belongs to the students, your "customers", or so you keep being told. You should only be concerned about *their* success, all day, every day. Not one second for yourself.<br /><br />Did I believe that while I was teaching? Of course not, but my superiors certainly did and they made sure that I knew that.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-5087235405660307502014-10-24T16:23:33.044-07:002014-10-24T16:23:33.044-07:00"1 earthshattering article or book that gets ..."1 earthshattering article or book that gets much attention?"<br /><br />^ This. 1-3 articles per year is what's **expected** at any halfway decent institution. If you publish a high profile book, especially if it gets some popular attention, good review from the NY Times or something, you can pretty much get hired whereever you want. Who comes to mind in my discipline is H.W. Brands, now at University of Texas, but he could go anywhere he wanted. Most of his work is not earth-shattering by any means - actually not very innovative at all and dependent on a lot of secondary research - but he's prolific and his books make the NYT best-seller list. <br /><br />I've seen people make lateral moves - from a branch state U. in one state to a different state's branch state U. in another - usually they do that because of the spouse and typically it is actually a slight move downward on the reputation scale. <br /><br />I'm at a community college - once you get sucked into this world you never get out. "Moving up" means moving into a CC system in a bigger city where they pay more, or moving into CC administration. Both of which I see happen, not often, but not un-common either. <br /><br />Universities will never look at me now because my research arc turned south too quickly with the high teaching load CCs require, and you can never catch up. A colleague of mine published a book last year - took him 15 years to do it and he did so just because he loved his research so much. <br /><br />In general, I'd say it's easier to move from Associate Professor to administrator of some type at another insitution than it is Associate Professor at an equivalent or better school. If you get into administration, then you move around a lot more and jobs are more like corporate jobs. You perform and move up or move up elsewhere, or you get the boot.CCHistProfnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-34747098980600333672014-10-24T16:10:53.839-07:002014-10-24T16:10:53.839-07:00It doesn't get any better if you get an academ...It doesn't get any better if you get an academic job. You always feel bad about whatever you're doing that's not contributing to that next article or decreasing the turnaround time to grade student papers, which they will complain about.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-79192940816737586242014-10-24T12:12:50.023-07:002014-10-24T12:12:50.023-07:00Academia is just out of touch with reality. I foun...Academia is just out of touch with reality. I found the social sciences completely disingenuous.The Demographic Enthusiasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10971898443119693625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-2721769785832331042014-10-07T13:48:11.906-07:002014-10-07T13:48:11.906-07:00One major reason not yet added to this list of 100...One major reason not yet added to this list of 100 (unless I missed it) is 'chronic agonising guilt' - I feel guilty about spending time doing anything other than my studies: exercise, eating properly, sleeping properly, chronic neglect of my boyf, having a long conversation with someone, going to my friends birthday party, forgetting their birthday! This is not a way to live life successfully. This blog preaches the truth but Ive found when I'm trying to talk prospective students out of starting this foolishness its already too late and their mind is made up: plow on into hell at all costs!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-80664519683505356192014-09-26T07:17:54.370-07:002014-09-26T07:17:54.370-07:00If one has a graduate degree and actually finds a ...If one has a graduate degree and actually finds a job, even one where that degree isn't required, one should make sure that it's an environment where that amount of education doesn't become a liability.<br /><br />There are some workplaces where employees can gang up one of their own because of that credential and make their lives miserable. It's like how some animal species react whenever there's a mutant in their midst or one of their offspring is injured or deformed. That individual usually dies either by being fatally injured or actually killed.<br /><br />I found that out while I was teaching at a podunk tech school. I started there with a master's degree but left with a Ph. D., studying for it part-time and taking educational leave to finish it. It didn't take long after I arrived for someone to take a disliking to me because of my education.<br /><br />As I added to my qualifications, that became outright bullying and harassment as that person was promoted to assistant department head. The DH himself not only supported it, he added to it.<br /><br />Sadly, the staff association, for the most part, looked the other way. The last dean was an administrative marshmallow coasting to retirement and he approved of what happened.<br /><br />Working there made me feel as if I was being pecked to death.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-57649081178641045522014-09-24T07:46:19.478-07:002014-09-24T07:46:19.478-07:00I'm an adjunct instructor, and one of the wors...I'm an adjunct instructor, and one of the worst things about it is being surrounded by tenured and tenure-stream "colleagues." It's like living within an arm's reach of an unreachable goal.<br /><br />I always put "colleagues" in quotation marks. They do the same things I do every day, but they're paid at least 6X as much, plus they have benefits and retirement plans. <br /><br />I don't begrudge them their jobs, but that doesn't change the fact that we adjuncts are tortured by being so close to success (or what amounts to success in our business) without having it. <br /><br />Some tenured people probably feel like they're stuck in a rut and not getting ahead, but adjuncts aren't even allowed in the rut. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-91240993675893357942014-09-24T07:05:48.605-07:002014-09-24T07:05:48.605-07:00"There were some very bright people in my pro..."There were some very bright people in my program, but all of them left academe either just before or after defending."<br /><br />I had the same experience in my PhD program. Every one of the really impressive grad students I met in my program quit without a PhD. That made a big impression on me. The people with the strongest intellects all left. I have no idea what they're doing now, but they figured out within a couple of years what a waste of time grad school was.<br /><br />On the whole, those of us who stuck around for the long haul were a pretty mediocre group of people. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-1982295316445037302014-09-18T01:45:12.786-07:002014-09-18T01:45:12.786-07:00Thanks for the info, its quite interesting and use...Thanks for the info, its quite interesting and useful!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-340431928260743502014-09-17T17:29:39.346-07:002014-09-17T17:29:39.346-07:00(continued)
Another case study:
This individual ...(continued)<br />Another case study: <br />This individual was TT at a highly-nationally-ranked SLAC but not tenured owing to institutional personality politics and perceptions. Subsequently spent time teaching abroad at a relatively unknown university (more prestigious there), and moved from there to a university ranking high in global surveys, subsequently moving from there to a permanent tenured position at a somewhat less prestigious university in the same country, still ranked highly in global surveys. The individual now lives in a desirable area.<br />1) It helps to be a published scholar in a significant subspecialty (journal and academic press publications).<br />2) It may help to take advantage of overseas openings - you may wind up at institutions that are superior to many of those here. This in turn can be used to boost the level of the institutions that consider you.<br />3) It helps to be involved in (discipline) conference planning.<br />4) This individual networked widely (but perhaps not always successfully).<br />5) It may help to be supportive of one's students (undergraduate and graduate alike).<br /><br />A couple of cases in STEM I do not know as well were department heads hired to head other departments. Usually this involved a step down in terms of institutional reputation but frequently a step up in compensation. In several of these cases part of the "sell" was their status as teaching award recipients, which invariably turned out to be an unreliable indicator IMHO.<br /><br />So, changing institutions as tenured faculty *has* been done, and doesn't appear to have been all that unusual. Also, I've elucidated what *I believe* to have been the major considerations in each case, and hope that these allay your concerns to some extent. However, I strongly believe 'Your Mileage May Vary' when it comes to anything in life. This seems to be more true as the numbers of people involved increase, and is especially true of any hotly contested, highly politicized and overcrowded area of endeavor like academia.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-42998214470554880982014-09-17T17:28:56.151-07:002014-09-17T17:28:56.151-07:00Responding poster here (09/14/14 1:06 PM),
First,...Responding poster here (09/14/14 1:06 PM),<br /><br />First, allow me to apologize for my reaction. As you may have guessed, a lot of that vitriol is not really directed at you but rather at 'pop scientists' and social science policy wonks who exercise a disproportionate influence.<br /><br />My more serious response is really in the first 1-2 paragraphs. To elucidate with case studies: <br />One individual I know (and took courses from) was tenured at one large state university, and managed to net another tenured position at another even larger (but less reputable) large state university, with higher salary. This individual is considered important within his (practical and applied) subspecialty (Royal Fellow) and has published a number of textbooks. Many of these are (sometimes extensive) revisions of his introductory (grad-level, however) textbook.<br />I would hazard a guess and say the bulk of his publication has occurred since the move. I might be tempted to draw the following conclusions from his experience:<br />1) Be in a field and subspecialty that have broad application but (perhaps) little overall competition.<br />2) Publish highly regarded intro-level texts in the subspecialty while contributing to intro-level texts in the encompassing discipline(s).<br />3) Find some way to collaborate with colleagues at the 'new' institution who are in the discipline and possibly even the subspecialty.<br />4) Be an excellent teacher and supportive individual (I will observe that these qualities were somewhat lacking or even non-existent in this individual's less-successful colleagues). I never saw this person do or say anything heated, go off-topic or otherwise present incompetently, or benefit certain students at the expense of others.<br />5) Direct your "TT-transfer" efforts to universities wishing to 'grow' their programs or reputations - and be willing to 'trade down' in terms of the host institution's reputation.<br /><br />Another individual I know (and took a research methods course from, in a different subject than the first) was not that prominently published in the field and was principally represented by a (meticulously researched and well-written) study the title and subject of which would convince many people that academia is somewhat frivolous. This individual was also department chair at a well-regarded state university before moving on to a bigger and less well-regarded state university, where the person moved into university administration in the discipline area (head of multiple departments in the subject). The person in question observed that the salary was better, and was happy about being in the desired geographical location but regretted not having any time for research or teaching. Some observations:<br />1) Be willing to consider administrative positions in order to move to a desired geographical location - for which it helps to have some background/experience in administration.<br />2) Publications can be but aren't necessarily a critical rationale for hiring.<br />3) Be an excellent teacher and supportive individual. I don't recall seeing this person ever get angry, or ever benefit someone at someone else's expense.<br />4) In looking for your "TT-transfer" institution you can be in the location of your choice, but you may have to trade down in terms of institutional reputation. As observed before, it helps to go to an institution that is trying to "build itself up."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-64760114212447471512014-09-16T04:17:13.032-07:002014-09-16T04:17:13.032-07:00OP here. First of all, I agree with your politics....OP here. First of all, I agree with your politics. The top 100 Reasons Not to Go to Grad School could not be complete without a reason along the lines of "You better like far left wing politics, or else." Even an intellectually honest leftist would have to admit there is a bias and that non-leftists are the only group NOT covered under the famous "liberal tolerance." (They tolerate everything except disagreement, which is actually incompatible with the definition of tolerance.) <br /><br />To the point of my post: how to be someone who can move from one TT place to another? I am not going to write any Malcolm Gladwell book that explains all human history with one trite idea (eg, embeddedness).<br /><br />Obviously, nothing can give you a 100% chance of being able to change. But what particularly can raise one's chances?<br /><br />Particularly what do you mean by doing "administration".. does that mean quit as an academic and become an administrator with no research or teaching anymore??Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com